Love is
by sa7rah
Summary: Love is... the daily affections we show each other without noticing.
1. Puppy Love

**A/N: I know, I know, you're all wondering why the hell I'm starting another story if I'm so damn busy all the time. This isn't going to really be a story, it's just going to be a chronology of domestic oneshots that won't be in order. I'm not planning on updating it all that often, most likely when I just need a little change from my main stories. So don't expect consistent updates, at most you can expect an update once a month, sorry it that dissapoints you.**

**As always, reviews aren't required but are greatly appreciated. I'm not going to beg.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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"_**Love is when your puppy licks your face, even after you left him alone all day," –Mary-Ann (4)**_

"But Daddy, what are we going to do with Blossom?" Harmony used their new puppy as her last complaint.

"Remember, we turned the extra room in the basement into a doggy room for Blossom," Thirty-five year old Troy Bolton replied to his six year old daughter, who really didn't want to return to school after winter break.

"What if she gets hungry?" Harmony continued, trying desperately to get her father to let her stay home from school that day.

"The doggy-walker will feed her after her walk. Now it's time to go honey, you're going to be late," Troy scooped up his daughter's backpack while she slid her coat on. He'd agreed on driving her to school instead of having his wife walk her to the bus stop.

"What if she gets mad at me for leaving her alone all day?" Harmony pestered her father.

"I promise she won't be mad sweetie," he bent down to her height and gave her forehead a small kiss knowing that she was over-reacting, "Now let's go."

Dragging her feet, Harmony exited the house through the door leading to the garage. After getting in the car, she pulled the seat belt around her small body, clicking it into place.

At six years of age little Harmony Isabel Bolton truly had no clue how much of a blessing she was to her parents. Troy smiled while taking a quick glance at his baby girl in the rear view mirror. It had only taken three years of trying, but Harmony had decided to grace their lives at the most unexpected time.

_Troy sat at the kitchen counter next to his wife, Gabriella. They'd talked on the phone after Troy had finished work, she'd been stressed beyond belief with her new promotion. She hadn't arrived home from work until after ten o'clock. Troy had decided to wait for her to come home and eat with her, knowing she wasn't necessarily satisfied with her life right now._

_At the ripe age of twenty-nine, the two had now been married five years. With marriage came kids and of course everyone had been bothering them about when they were going to have their first. Neither had the gut to tell anyone they had been vigorously trying for almost three years now._

_It took two years for Gabriella to accept that there was some sort of problem. She'd denied it, saying that this month just wasn't right. After so much time trying, Troy pushed her into an appointment with her gynecologist, knowing that if they were serious about starting a family they would have to eventually._

_After a few appointment's and tests, she had been deemed infertile but they'd never actually gotten to the exact cause. That was when they'd both accepted that there was a chance they'd never have their own children and that it may come down to infertility drugs or adoption if they ever wanted to have a family. Deciding to excel in the work field for the moment, they had pushed off the lengthy and painful process for a little while longer._

_Troy could tell Gabriella struggled not knowing why they couldn't get pregnant but she'd dug herself deep into work. He could tell it was to mask her pain. Their sex life had considerately slowed down since._

_When she'd arrived home, they sat down to eat the grilled ham and cheese sandwiches Troy had made along with some tomato soup. Silence had covered them but emotion was shared through the looks on each other's faces. Gabriella had been increasingly tired the past week or two and she should be with all the work she'd been doing._

_Tonight she seemed to be having a little bit of difficulty swallowing her food, "Is there something wrong with the sandwich?"_

"_No, it's fine," her stomach was arguing with her, "I think I might be coming down with the flu or something."_

"_I think you should take a day off of work," he looked her in the eye, "You seem really run down lately."_

"_I'll be fine," she brought a spoonful of soup to her mouth, shaking the feeling off._

_Silence once again filled the room as they continued to eat. A while later Gabriella abruptly stood from her stool and awkwardly ran out of the room. Troy followed, knowing it was very likely she was about to get sick. For moral support he pulled her hair back and gently ran the back of his hand up and down her back. An idea began to formulate in his brain, looking over at the trashcan next to the toilet he noticed that all it contained was the cardboard left over from toilet paper rolls, a few Kleenex, and some dental floss._

_As she finished, Troy stood and walked to the sink to grab a glass of water for her to gargle, "Here."_

"_Thanks," she lent her head against Troy's shoulder, remaining close to the toilet in case her stomach decided to act up again._

_Troy had a gut feeling about this. Every month she placed a red dot on the calendar next to the day she got her period and the day it ended. It was his duty to take out the trash and it had been a while since he'd seen any tampon wrappers in the trash._

_Kissing her forehead he whispered it to her, "You're pregnant."_

"_No I'm not," she rebutted._

_He smiled, "Yeah you are. You haven't gotten your period yet, you're constantly tired, and now you're getting sick."_

"_Troy," she warned, this was definitely not helping the situation they'd been dealing with for a while._

"_I can feel it baby," he couldn't explain it, the best he could do was say it was one of those gut feelings._

"_Don't get your hopes up," she said, denying the signs because she knew they'd be devastated if they got another negative response._

All in all, it had paid off. It seemed as though it had happened when love making became more about making love than making babies. Even though it was highly unlikely for them to have another, they were more than grateful that they had one.

For Christmas, Troy had caved to his daughter and wife's begging. Surprising both of them, he sneakily planned for his best friend to watch the little puppy for a day and deliver it on Christmas morning. Needless to say, the puppy had been a large success.

A room in their basement had been converted into a puppy proof room. It was where the dog would have to stay while Gabriella and him were at work.

/

"Mommy!" Harmony squealed, expecting her babysitter to meet her at home after getting off the school bus. The school didn't have an after school care program so Troy and Gabriella had to hire a babysitter for an hour or two until Gabriella or Troy got home from work.

"Hey sweetie, how was school?" Gabriella pulled a sheet of cookies out of the oven.

"It was fine," she said giving her Mom a hug and receiving a kiss in return.

"Want a cookie?" Gabriella stupidly asked.

"Yes please," Harmony slid up to the counter for her snack before asking her mother why she was home early, "Why aren't you at work?"

"I had some meetings that weren't at my office and decided to just come home instead of going back in," she replied not being completely truthful. She had gone to meetings that day, they weren't work meetings however. Troy and her had decided on adopting a second child, wanting to expand their family. She'd met the contemplating mother for the first time today without Troy because he had to return to work after the long holiday. She'd been able to swing an extra day off. The girl that had interviewed her was a young teenager, not ready to bear the opportunity of raising a child. She wanted an open adoption, meaning that Troy and her would provide information, pictures, and letters to the mother on a regular basis, which they didn't have a problem with. Hopefully in about five months they'd be able to bring home a new baby boy or girl.

Harmony finally noticed that she was forgetting something, "Where's Blossom?"

"I'm not sure, I let her out from the basement when I got home," Gabriella smiled at her daughter who was fascinated with the new puppy, "Why don't you go find her?"

She was off her chair in a second, leaving behind her cookie, "Blossom! Where are you?"

Her search continued before finding the puppy hidden underneath the table in the dining room. Sitting down on the ground to call the dog to her, she didn't have a chance before the puppy bounded at her full speed, "Blossom!"

"Ewe," she giggled as the puppy licked her face with kisses. Turns out the puppy did love her, even though she'd left it home alone _all day long._

_

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_**In my profile I'll post the link to the page that I'll be basing these one shot's off. Apparently they're real responses from kids on what they think love is but it's from tumblr and I don't have a completely reliable source.**

**Oh, and I know this isn't great for my writing, I just kind of needed a segway into the upcoming chapters.**


	2. Tshirt Love

**A/N: I know I said I wouldn't update this often but I had this dream last night and I had to type it up. Plus I'm kind of stuck on one of my other stories so I thought I'd just update this to give me a little change of pace. Maybe it'll help to take a little break from it.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

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"_**Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday" –Noelle (Age 7)**_

Gabriella wiped a bit of sweat off her forehead. She wasn't sure how hot it was but it was definitely too hot. Finding herself wondering why she had moved so far south in southern California, she began to scoop out what would be her third attempt at baking cookies. Troy loved cookies. Her cooking skills? Not so much. She really wished Troy's apartment had air conditioning.

Attending Stanford had led her many times to Los Angeles and that is where she assumed she would end up working. She had actually graduated a year early, her AP classes had covered quite a few of her required credits. That being said, it wasn't until she had driven even further south in the state that she'd truly fallen in love with a city. Deciding on taking a job as an assistant at a publishing firm, the best she could do as an inexperienced 21 year-old, she'd made the jump to San Diego. A while after moving she had adventured around the city which lead her to meet Troy, at the time 21 years-old also and a college student at San Diego State University. Unlike her, he was a California native from the La Jolla area.

So far they'd been dating for a year. Gabriella was contemplating returning to school to get her master's degree and Troy had graduated a few months ago. He continued his internship but was hoping to get a paid job at an interview this upcoming week. And now she was baking him cookies. Why was she baking him cookies? Oh yes, it was all a part of the plan she'd formulated. The plan to get him out of that damn, smelly blue shirt of his. Yes, she'd complimented it. Yes, she thought it was a good color on him. No, it was not that great of a shirt that he had to wear it every single time she saw him. However, she could not figure out how such a simple conversation had lead to him wearing the shirt fourteen days straight.

She truly hoped that her plan would work. Troy would arrive at his apartment after a much too stressful day for an unpaid employee and she'd baby him and eventually seduce him. Starting out, she'd present him with his favorite cookies she had hand made from his grandmother's recipe. Then, give him a little shoulder massage and allow him to have his way with her. Simple really.

Hearing him attempt to fumble with the already open lock, she shoved the cookies into the oven with hope that they'd turn out alright. Turning to the counter, she began to open the boxes of takeout she'd picked up between her frustrated attempts at baking. Quickly grabbing some plates she set them on the table as she walked out into the living room, "Hey babe."

Troy turned his head from the small coat closet he kicked his shoes into with a frown on his face, "Hey."

Gabriella took this as a sign work had been worse than she anticipated. All the better for her plan, he'd loosen up even more. Dragging her feet on the carpet, she made her way toward Troy and stretched her body so that she could wrap her arms around his neck. This had become part of their routine a few nights a week. Neither were ready to move in yet, after all they had only been together a year, but it was nice to spend a few nights a week together since their relationship had developed into something fairly serious.

Troy bent his head down to press a kiss to her forehead and sniffed, taking a double take, "Do I smell cookies?"

Gabriella grinned as she pressed her head into his chest, "Yes, but you have to eat the Chinese I picked up first."

"Give me a minute and I'll be out," Troy tossed his laptop bag onto the chair as he did every night and headed toward his bedroom to change. Pulling on his blue shirt, he smiled knowing Gabriella liked it. Walking back out, he plopped down in his chair with a sigh.

"Long day?" She questioned.

"Mmhmm," Troy rolled his eyes remembering his day at work. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate his internship at the prestigious business office that would look good on his resume; it was the fact that his unpaid internship seemed like an easy out of hiring a personal assistant for his boss Loretta.

"What'd Loretta make you do today?" Gabriella had heard a few interesting tasks he'd been assigned previously and was always interested in his comical responses.

"The usual, coffee run, pick up the dry cleaning, answer the phone," Troy knew it didn't seem like a lot but he always managed to screw something up and never managed to understand how these tasks would help him in the business world, "And she made me walk her dog. Actually, no, she made me walk her rat."

"Well, everyone has to have at least one shitty job in their lifetime. And think, pretty soon you'll be living it up in your own cubicle," Gabriella reached her hand over to pat Troy's.

Troy chuckled, "Hopefully."

"Don't doubt yourself, you'll get the job. I know it," Gabriella offered him a smile, knowing how much he truly hated his internship.

Before Troy could say anything else, a loud timer rang from the kitchen. Gabriella hopped out of her seat to pull the cookies out of the oven before they burnt. Grinning at the outcome, she pulled out the sheet of golden brown chocolate chunk cookies and set them on top of the stove so they could cool. Third time's a charm.

Returning to the table, she found Troy scraping up the last of his noodles and kung pao chicken. He turned his head and smiled cheekily at her, reminding her of a young child, "Can I have a cookie now?"

Leaning on the door frame, she grinned back, "Sure." Using a knife to assist in removing the cookies from the tray, she put a few on a small plate while Troy brought their empty plates to set in the sink to be washed later. Both walked to the couch to cuddle and watch a little television for a while. Troy let Gabriella have control of the remote, knowing that there wasn't any sporting event he particularly wanted to watch. She flipped the channel until she found a rerun of _Sex and the City. _

Troy let her mold her body into his as their limbs tangled together and he brought his first cookie to his mouth, "So, what prompted you to make cookies? I thought you couldn't bake."

"I don't know, I guess I just wanted to do something nice for my boyfriend," she wasn't going to let on about the smelly shirt he was wearing.

"I may just have the most awesome girlfriend in the world," Troy pressed a chocolate flavored kiss to her lips.

"If I knew all it took was cookies, I'd have made them sooner," she responded with another kiss, this time initiating a little more contact for a longer period. Without breaking the kiss, she adjusted herself to be on top of Troy. Beginning to slide her hand up from his neck to the back of his head and gently gave him the cue to further their contact. Feeling his hands on her shoulders, she pulled out of the kiss and gave him a look with her eyes for him to continue. It wasn't every time she was over that they got busy. In fact, most of the time they did get busy was when she wasn't staying the night.

Pressing her lips to the side of his mouth, she began to pepper down to his chin, over his jaw down to his neck and back up to his ear. After lingering for a moment, she placed them back on top of his lips and made her way into his mouth. Letting her tongue graze his lip, she took her time in a teasing manner before allowing their tongues to meet. Troy's hands slid down the curve of her body, letting them graze her curves without actually touching her in an overly sexual way.

"Have I ever told you I love you?" Troy squeezed in when Gabriella pulled away for air.

"Maybe," she annunciated with pecks on his lips, "Once. Or. Twice."

Troy abruptly stood up, carrying her with her legs wrapped around his waste, "Bedroom."

Gabriella nodded and pressed kisses to his neck as he transported her to his bedroom. When he set her down on the edge of the bed, she immediately tugged his shirt over his head and instead of throwing it across the room, she gently dropped it onto the floor where she'd remember where it was later. Beginning to scoot toward the pillows on the opposite side of the bed, Troy gripped her thighs and pulled her back, "Not so fast baby."

"What?" She questioned confused at first but let out a gentle moan as she felt his lips trail down the skin where her breasts blossomed from her chest and he began to lift the material of her soft t-shirt inch by increasingly slow inch.

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Gabriella lay basking in joy with Troy's arm comfortably wrapped around her waist. He had actually been the first man she slept with who had spooned with her post-sex. It had startled her the first night, he'd crept his arm around her waist and pulled her so close she didn't know where her body ended and his began. That was the point at which she began to wonder if the three men she had slept with previously were just douche bags or Troy was just an exceptionally cuddly man. Troy wouldn't approve of her second hypothesis though.

Troy had a pattern of gently rubbing his thumb over her arm during their spooning moments. It always sent chills through her body at his gentleness. Sometimes he'd twirl a curl around his finger or press gentle kisses to her cheek when she'd bend it sideways to look at him. Whatever it was that he did, always made her feel loved.

As much as she wanted to stay wrapped in his arms, he was beginning to nod off. If she wanted to get to the shirt without him realizing, she had to move now when he was drowsy and wasn't thinking. Beginning to wriggle out of his arms, she felt his resistance, "What are you doing?"

"Getting out of the bed," she responded and repeated in her brain that she had to resist his temptations.

"No," he sighed in tiredness, "Sleep baby."

"Troy I have to pee," she heard him groan and loosen his grip on her. Worked like a charm.

Sliding out, she grabbed Troy's shirt and slid it over her head while gagging slightly at the smell. Seriously, he had a washing machine. He should use it more often. It would be worth it though. She'd seen the shirt on him fourteen times in three weeks. It was time the shirt disappeared. Gliding a pair of clean panties up her legs, she went to the bathroom so that she wouldn't wake up with a full bladder in the middle of the night. Sliding back into bed, she was surprised to find Troy still awake.

"You put clothes on?" His observation was expressed with questioning.

"Did you think I was going to walk to the bathroom buck naked?" Gabriella said, hoping he wouldn't notice she had his shirt on.

"Wouldn't be the first time," He smirked, letting the image of watching her back side walk to the bathroom teasingly fill his brain, "Is this my shirt?"

"Mmhmm," Gabriella was hoping he'd drop the topic before he caught on.

"Huh," Gabriella knew Troy was contemplating saying anything else. She had a drawer full of camisoles and sportsbras. Generally she'd come back to bed naked but rarely in his shirt. The morning after she'd slide his shirt on but she'd claimed that she got twisted in his baggy shirts and they'd caused trouble to her.

Feeling his breathing steady, she felt him nod off. Smirking at her actions, she'd successfully gotten the shirt. Sure, it would've been easier to just take it out of his closet while he was at work but this was a lot more fun than that.

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**I'm looking into getting a beta reader for my stories after realizing how much contradiction An Ocean Between You and Me has. But before I decide on some random person I just wanted to check with my lovely reviewers to see if there's a beta out there that already reads my stories. Let me know if you're interested at all.**


	3. Piano Recital

_**During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at the people watching me and saw my Daddy smiling and waving. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't afraid anymore. –Cindy (age 8)**_

Harmony held her beginner's piano book tight to her chest. Biting her lip, she looked out from behind the large red curtain as she waited for the boy playing a song to finish. Glancing around, she looked at all the people watching intently with their video camera's poised to capture the moment of their child's debut in the musical world. Wiggling in her dress, she adjusted the skirt so that it wasn't crooked.

Her Daddy was in the crowd, three rows back. He'd tried to get a front row seat, but they'd arrived a little later than some of the other families. She noticed he was looking at the program and bracing his own camera to record her.

As the boy finished, he took a small bow and walked toward the opposite end of the stage. Counting to three in her head as her teacher had told her, she took a step out in her gold sandals that matched her dress. The piano was tilted at an angle so that the crowd could see the left side of her body. After opening her book she took one last look at the audience, something her teacher had instructed her not to do.

Squinting through the bright lights, she spotted her father easily. He had a bright smile on his face and was waving at her. That eased her stage fright a little bit. Bracing her hands over the keys, she repeated the notes in her head. She'd played the song so many times that she didn't even need the book. C, C, G, G, A, A, G, F, F, E, E, D, D, C…

She could almost picture her daddy singing along, "Twinkle, Twinkle, little star…" It was the most common lullaby he'd sung to her as a toddler. Even though her Mom wasn't here, she appreciated that her Daddy had come. That was the main reason he'd brought the video camera, to show Gabriella later.

When she finished her song, she stood up and took the appropriate curtsey and waved back to her father. Walking off the stage, she practically skipped to the waiting room for the rest of the show. Smiling, she felt relieved it was over but a little excited that she'd been able to do it perfectly in front of so many people.

/

"Harmony!" Troy shouted as he saw his daughter sifting through the many people crowded in the lobby of the theater his daughter's piano recital had been in. The parents and children were all reconciling and drinking punch and eating cookies. His little girl ran at the sight of him and jumped into his arms. Lifting her up he pressed a proud kiss to the top of her head, "You did great sweetheart."

"Did you get it on camera?" She questioned and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I did. It was absolutely perfect," Bending over, he let her feet hit the ground. "Mommy's going to be so sad she couldn't come."

"Did Annelise have the baby yet?" Harmony knew that the reason her mother hadn't come was because Annelise, the teenager that Troy and Gabriella were adopting their second child from, had gone into labor unexpectedly two hours before the performance.

"Not yet," Troy ran his hand through her hair, "Mommy said it might be a little while still."

"Am I still going to Grandma and Grandpa's tonight?" Harmony was excited to be able to spend some time with her grandparents, so far she was Gabriella's parents only grandchild.

Troy laughed, knowing she was excited for limitless desserts and candy, "Yes, you still are."

"And then when I come home, the new baby is going to be there?" She questioned. Troy and Gabriella had done the best they could to try and prepare for the new baby but Harmony wouldn't get the full effect until their second baby was brought home.

"Yes," Troy responded, for the most part Harmony seemed fairly excited for the arrival of her baby brother/sister.

Walking over toward the table of cookies and punch, Harmony spoke up, "I think it's going to be a girl."

Troy chuckled at her statement, the birth mother had decided on not finding out the sex of the baby, "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know, I just think it's going to be a girl," she shrugged her shoulders up, "Do you think it's going to be a girl."

"I have no clue," Troy liked the suspense of waiting, they hadn't found out the sex Harmony before she'd been born either. "I'll be happy with a boy or a girl."

"Mommy said she thought it was a boy," Harmony spoke.

"She also thought you were going to be a boy," Troy had to admit, after months of Gabriella walking around claiming the baby was going to be a boy, Harmony had popped out and he'd been shocked of Gabriella's wrong prediction.

"That's silly," Harmony scrunched her nose at the thought of being a boy as she chewed her cookie. "It's okay if it's a boy, I like them too."

"Really now," Troy knew that at the age of six, she wasn't into boys too much but this was the first time she'd revealed that she didn't mind them.

"Yeah, well, you're a boy," she pointed at her father, "And I like you."

"Good point baby girl," Troy motioned toward the door, "Should we head out? Maybe we can stop by the hospital and see mommy before you go to grandma's house."


	4. Tired Smiles

"_**Love is what makes you smile when you're tired" **_**–Terri, age 4**

Gabriella awoke in a cold bed with a groan due to her achy body. Troy was gone, which was unusual, especially since she'd been waking early because she had been having a hard time sleeping. There was no sign that he was even home, the bathroom door was open and the light was off, there was no sound from the kitchen indicating he was making breakfast, and his wet towel from his morning shower was on top of the hamper sitting next to their closet.

She rolled over to check the time, she'd kill Troy if she was late for work because he hadn't woken her up before she left. However, instead of seeing glowing neon lights, she came face to face with a few post it notes. She peeled them off and began to read them. Why he didn't just get a piece of paper and write it in one spot, she wasn't sure.

**Good morning Beautiful**

That was all that was written on the first note.

**I called you in sick today.**

**Sleep as late as you want.**

That was the second note.

**Do whatever you want**

**Be sure to rest though**

**And don't even think about cleaning**

**I will be able to tell if you do**

Third note:

**I'll be home around five**

**Don't worry about dinner, I've got it covered**

**Have a wonderful day**

Then came the fourth note.

**I love you**

**-Troy**

She thought that she was done, but obviously not.

**Don't worry, I'll reset your alarm clock tonight**

**Call me if you have the chance.**

Glancing over, she hadn't even noticed that her clock was off, nothing was displayed. Gabriella smiled even though she was exhausted. Tomorrow she probably wouldn't be too happy when she had to return to work, but she was thankful that Troy took over for her and made her stay home. No doubt she would have been in a bad mood if she had gone in to work.

However, she wasn't ready to discuss what had happened last night. Troy claimed she was pregnant, and if it wasn't the middle of winter, prime time flu season, and not to mention that she was pretty much infertile, she would agree. However, it was all of the following. The puking, the aches, all of it were signs of the flu. He couldn't tell her she was pregnant, he wasn't a doctor.

More over, she didn't want to get her hopes up just to get them crushed. And she didn't want Troy's to be crushed either.

Deciding to push all thoughts out of her head, Gabriella grabbed the remote from Troy's bedside table and flipped the TV on. She was going to enjoy her day off in bed. She was surprised to find that it was already after ten, she hadn't slept in that late in a long time.

After an hour or so, she forced herself out of bed only to get something to eat. Gabriella fixed herself some hot chocolate and a bowl of cereal. Before heading back to bed, she went to grab her laptop to check some emails. It wasn't where she always left it, a clear sign Troy kidnapped it to really keep her from working. When she returned to their bedroom, she also discovered her phone was missing, which she was planning on using as her back up form as connection to her work place.

Sighing, she went to grab the landline to call Troy.

"Good morning sunshine," Troy shoved the phone between his ear and shoulder after checking the caller I.D.

"I hate you," She faked being mad at him.

"Me?" Troy questioned, "World's best husband?"

Gabriella smiled, "You took my laptop _and _cell phone."

"That's the point," He continued typing on his own computer, "You aren't working. Emails count as working."

"Fine then," She tugged the sheets up to her chest, "Thank you though."

"Please, even if I had to lock you in the house, I wasn't letting you work today," Troy explained, "Especially after you got sick last night."

"I'd be miserable," She was glad that it was Friday too, she'd get to have a three day weekend.

"Are you feeling any better than last night?" He was slightly worried about her being home by herself if she was just going to be throwing up all day.

"A little, I had some hot chocolate and cereal," She replied, he'd be happy about that.

"Good," Troy was glad she was feeling a little better, "Any recommendations for dinner? Craving anything?"

Gabriella understood Troy's subtle hint, "Troy, do _not _read too far into this. It's just the flu. And I want pasta for dinner."

"Okay, I won't," Even though he had a plan, "I'll pick something up on the way home, okay?"

"Sounds good," Gabriella responded, satisfied.

"I'll see you later then," Troy stood to grab some papers from the fax machine, "I love you."

"Love you too sweetheart," Gabriella returned, "Bye."

"Feel better El," Troy said one last time before he hung up.

* * *

Gabriella had survived the day, mostly following Troy's rules. She hadn't cleaned at all with the exception of the load of laundry she'd done. It was only because the mound of overflowing clothes had been staring at her while she sat in bed all day.

She'd been lounging around all day, the only difference from this morning was that she moved from the bed to the couch and started to read her book instead of watching TV. She wished she had her laptop to do some online shopping but that could wait until she was under Troy's watchful supervision. Even though she'd woken up late, she ended up taking a nap on the couch. It was probably because she was sick and bored.

Only for a little while had her mind crossed to her illness, or lack there of in Troy's opinion. Yes it was true, as he mentioned, she hadn't gotten her period yet this month. Damn Troy and his observative nature. He wouldn't have known had he not be the one that took out the trash.

That was the only part that kept the possibility of her being pregnant an option. She'd only thought about it after a wave of nausea hit her and she found herself kneeling on the bathroom floor in the same position she'd been in the night before. The answer to why her period hadn't come was probably the elevated stress level she'd had at work lately.

Troy walked in, in a positive mood with plastic bags rubbing against each other, making noise as he walked to the kitchen, "Hello Brie!"

Gabriella heard Troy shout from kitchen before he walked back to the living room, where she sat on the couch.

"Hi," She responded weakly as he sat down next to her feet on the couch, lifting her blanket covered legs off the couch and onto his lap.

"How are you feeling?" He lifted his hand to her forehead to feel if she had a temperature.

"Achy," She responded.

"It's nice to see you before nine o'clock," He hinted that he hadn't necessarily been happy with the amount of time she'd been spending at work lately, "You really need to spend less time at work. Especially since you're sick now."

"I know," Gabriella shifted her body so that she could rest her head on Troy's shoulder, "Did you bring me food?"

Troy laughed at her sudden excitedness, "Of course."

He helped her up and lead her by the hand to the kitchen, where the two bags containing food sat on the kitchen counter, "Fettuccini for my beautiful wife, and spaghetti for my handsome self."

Gabriella laughed and nudged his hip as he handed her the plastic bag with her food in it. She began taking out the contents of the bag, fettuccini, bread, napkins, plastic silverwear, pregnancy test, "_Troy."_

It was easy for him to sense the warning her voice but he remained innocent, "What?"

"What the hell is a pregnancy test doing in my bag of food?" The questioned.

"What are you talking about?" He faked ignorance, "Wow, those people are good. How did they know you needed one?"

"Oh my God Troy," She rested her head in her palm.

"Please baby?" He stuck his head near her face, "I promise I'll stop bugging you about it if you just take it."

She turned her head so that their faces were really close together and sighed, "No."

"Come on," He begged, "Just take it. You don't have to do right now. You can do it after dinner, before we go to bed, in the middle of the night while I'm asleep."

"I'm not taking it," She discarded the box on the counter, "You know I'm not pregnant."

"Then prove it," He slid the box closer to her, "If you're not pregnant then you shouldn't have any fear about taking it, right?"

Gabriella remained silent and moved to open her bowl of pasta, knowing there was no way out of it, "Fine, but I'll take it on my own time."

"Works for me," Troy shrugged, "Now I'm thinking we can forgo sitting at the table for one night and go cuddle on the couch?"

"Sounds great," She put aside the pregnancy test and followed her lovely, persistent, husband to the couch.

* * *

"Troy," Gabriella shook her husband, maybe a little more harshly than she should have, "Wake up baby."

"Huh?" He groggily rolled onto his side sensing his wife.

"Did you only buy one?" She demanded even though he wasn't registering what was happening.

"What?" He sat up, nearly colliding heads with her, "What are you talking about?"

"Pregnancy tests," Gabriella cleared up, "Did you only buy one?"

"I-," He was really disoriented, especially considering it was one in the morning, "What? Why?"

"Because I need another one," She was beginning to get impatient, "Like now."

"Why do you need another one?" Troy flicked on the light on his bedside table.

"I just," She stuttered, "It was positive. I need another one because the one you bought is obviously defective."

"Okay, calm down," Troy didn't think she'd actually take one in the middle of the night, "I bought three, they're in the car."

"Got it," Gabriella got down the hallway before realizing that she wasn't going to go outside in the middle of winter in a t-shirt and underwear.

"Woah, woah, woah," Troy caught her just as she was about to turn around, "You, my pregnant wife, are not going outside in the middle of winter while you're not feeling good. I will get it. You go back to the bedroom."

Gabriella turned around, "Don't say that, I'm not pregnant. Your test is defective."

"It is not defective," Troy rolled his eyes while he shoved his feet into a pair of shoes before opening the garage door and grabbing his car keys, "You are in denial."

Troy found Gabriella pacing in the bathroom, "Took you long enough."

She held a bottle of water in hand and was drinking out of it like someone was going to steal the last bottle of water on earth from her, "If you wanted me to react quickly, you shouldn't have done this in the middle of the night." He was working on ripping the box open all the while trying to locate the supposedly defective first pregnancy test, "Here."

As she sat down to squat on the toilet, Troy picked up the all too familiar white stick from edge of the bathtub. The familiar white stick, wasn't as familiar as the many other's they'd had previously because this one clearly read positive.

She quickly finished up and walked over to Troy near the counter, setting down the second test. Troy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, "Aren't you happy I made you take that test now?"

Gabriella remained motionless, not wanting to admit he was right. She dug her head into his neck after he kissed her forehead. She could feel his hands rubbing up and down her back.

"While we wait, I think it's lecture time," He pulled his head back from her and looked down, hoping she'd just pull her head away instead of her body, "You need to stop working so much, Okay?"

Gabriella nodded her head and remained silent.

"I mean it Ella," He squeezed tighter, "It's not just because I want you around more, which I do, but it's taking a toll on your body and especially now that your pregnant you need to rest more."

She just nodded her head against his chest.

"You need to take better care of yourself," He lifted her face to look at him, "No more of this negative crap. I know it's been difficult but now is the time to change."

Her brown eyes stared back at him as he kept a hold of her face.

He smiled wide at her, "At the most important part," He joked, "I am always right."

"Watch it," Gabriella threatened, "I'm very hormonal now that I'm pregnant."

"Oh please," Troy laughed, "You just found out ten minutes ago. You don't get to claim rights to being hormonal until tomorrow morning."

"It's 1:37," She pointed out, "Technically it is tomorrow morning."

"Fine," Troy sighed, "It should be done now."

Gabriella grabbed the test, already knowing what it said. She held it out to Troy to read before her.

He smiled and flipped it over, "Doesn't look like the other one was defective."


	5. Kisses

"_**Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more…" **_**–Emily, age 8**

Gabriella giggled as Troy's lips moved from the corner of her mouth, along her jawline, and up to her ear. She wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and continued laughing as he nipped at her ear.

Recently, they'd been in a more flirty mood than normal and found themselves sneaking off to different areas of the house to spend time with each other. They'd gotten caught by their daughters a few times, something that neither the couple or certain daughter particularly was fond of. Troy had suggested they both take the day off work to spend some time together, alone, especially since summer was just around the corner and their daughters would be home all the time.

That being said, Gabriella and Troy had spent almost all day together, in bed, and they recently got out of bed to shower before their daughters caught them in the act. For some reason, they seemed to think that since Troy and Gabriella were forty-four years old they couldn't be sexual.

Troy's hands slipped from her waist to her butt covered with the thin material of her dress and she moved her head so that he would kiss her on the lips.

"My beautiful wife," He mumbled in between kisses, "You keep getting more and more beautiful every day."

"I wish I could say the same," Gabriella joked and he lifted her up in response, throwing her over her shoulder.

"Take it back," He threatened, walking out of the kitchen to the living room.

Gabriella giggled at his playfulness, "Better put me down before you throw out your back old man."

"I am in great shape," Troy gently dropped her on the couch and stood next to her with his hands on his hips, "Thank you very much."

"Trust me baby," Gabriella patted his stomach, "I know."

"Good," He partially leant over her, only for her wrap her arms around him and tug him down on top of her, "You've partially redeemed yourself."

"What's it going to take to fully redeem myself?" She questioned with a smirk on her face.

"That's a good question," He bent his legs so that one was on each side of her waist and he was kneeling over her, "A little this, a little that."

First he kissed her neck and then he groped one of her breasts, "Haven't I given you enough this and that?"

"A man can never have enough," His smile grew on her neck.

"We might have to wait a little while," She said, "The girls will be home any minute now."

Troy somehow maneuvered them so that Gabriella was on top now, "You can start to pay me back."

Gabriella was still between his legs, that were bent at his knees while his feet remained flat against the couch. He squeezed her a little with his legs, "We're going to have to keep it appropriate for the couch though."

"Who cares if we're on the couch?" Troy reminded, "Hasn't stopped us before."

Gabriella cupped his cheeks and pressed her mouth to his, allowing his arms to wrap around her to press her flatter against his chest. Troy's hand moved over her back on top of her cardigan and he kept one on her neck to prevent her from pulling away. Gabriella ever so lightly ran her tongue along his lip before she pulled away.

"You're awfully mean," He said, attempting to get her to resume as his hands continued to roam, "Are you wearing a bra?"

She pressed her lips against his again, not answering his question. Gabriella rubbed her lips against his, letting his tongue in this time only to pull away soon after, "I don't know, you tell me."

"Mrs. Bolton," His hand pushed away the material of her cardigan, as well as one of the straps of her dress, "Stop asking for it. You're the one who's concerned about our children coming home and finding us busy."

She pulled away so that she wasn't lying on top of him anymore and was kneeling in-between his legs and pulled the strap back up, so that her braless breast wouldn't fall out of her dress, "I guess you'll never know."

"I have my ways," He tugged at the thin material of her dress despite knowing that she wasn't wearing a bra, it was almost knee length, tied around the waist, and had a triangle shaped covering for each breast. Slowly, he slid his hands up her thighs, under her dress to squeeze her butt again. Before withdrawing, Troy slid his thumbs under the waist band of her thong, as though to pull it off, but retrieved, snapping them in the process.

"That wasn't very nice," She pouted and in return slid her hands underneath the waist of his belt, but above the soft material of his boxers.

Troy tugged her back down to lying on top of him, while managing to slide her cardigan off in the process. He tossed it above his head and it landed in front of the couch. Troy's hands slid under the back of her dress, instead of the front, near her zipper and felt around, "No bra. Interesting decision Bolton."

"Less for you to remove," Gabriella stressed and removed her hands, using them to balance over Troy.

Troy's hands slid up the front of her body, running over her stomach to her breasts. This time he squeezed both and remained in the same spot, massaging around the area. Gabriella groaned in audible response, her nipples responding in a physical response, "Feel good?"

"I don't know how we've done so much today," She breathed, "And you're still making me horny."

"You are making me more horny," He gently shifted underneath her, so that she could feel how he truly felt about the situation.

Gabriella removed his hands from her bust and leaned down to kiss him again, feeling the pressure he was applying. Once again, his hands found their way underneath her dress.

"Oh gross," Harmony exclaimed as she walked into the living room, friends in tow, "I told you guys I had friends coming over."

Gabriella giggled, further disgusting her daughter, while simply turning her head into her husband's neck, knowing that her husband would be mad if she made any movements to reveal the lower half of his body. Troy let his legs rest down against the couch and simply wrapped his arms around Gabriella, keeping her tight against him.

"Stop being so dramatic Harmony!" Troy said loudly as the group began to walk in the kitchen, whose large cut out window did little to protect them from Troy and Gabriella.

"Stop making out," The seventeen year old responded, disgusted.

"We will make out whenever we feel like it young lady," Troy knew she was about to roll her eyes at him, "And don't roll your eyes at me."

"Dad, you guys are so gross. I have friends over," Harmony declared, as if they hadn't noticed.

"I don't think you want your mom to move right now," Troy said quietly, but not too quiet for Harmony to hear. Gabriella laughed loudly when Harmony didn't respond.

"Ew," She had turned into quite the dramatic teenager.

"Consider this good birth control," Troy joked, knowing that Harmony's boyfriend was in the kitchen as well as her best friend and her boyfriend, "In eighteen years the only enjoyment you get is from disgusting your children and their friends."

As soon as her father uttered the word birth control, she was done, "That's it, I'm going to the basement."

"Good," Troy made a move to kiss Gabriella's neck, knowing full well that Harmony was still in the room.

"Oh my gosh," She held her hand over her eyes, "You could at least wait two seconds."

"No, I can't," Troy got enjoyment out of teasing his oldest daughter.

"Mmm, Troy," Gabriella faked a moan, "Right there, do it again."

"Ella," Troy played along, "Oh, keep going. Uh, that feels so-"

He cut himself off and groaned. Once Harmony made it down the stairs, they started laughing. It was only moments later their second daughter made her way inside the house.

"Well there's my beautiful Lily-Anne," Troy said when he heard her walk closer to them.

Lily-Anne was eleven, a fifth grader in her last year of elementary school. She didn't resemble much of Troy or Gabriella because she was adopted. She had green eyes and light brown hair, which some people who didn't know she was adopted asked if she inherited from Troy.

"Hi Daddy," She said, walking into the kitchen to grab an after school snack.

"How was school?" Gabriella spoke up.

"Fine," She shrugged, it was the end of the school year and everyone was getting a bit antsy, "Can I go to Jenny's house for a little while?"

"Sure," Gabriella responded, Jenny lived four houses down, "Remember to call if you need anything." It was likely she would end up spending the night at Jenny's or Jenny would end up at their house.

After she left, Gabriella sighed and yawned a little.

"Tired?" Troy asked, knowing that he too felt a little worn out.

Gabriella nodded her head. Troy kissed her forehead, "Can we just lay here and talk for a while?"

"Of course," Troy twirled a curl around his finger, one of his many habits.

* * *

**So I must admit, I did take a little insperation from my name for Lily-Anne's. I guess having two first names is kinda unique, and if you can't tell I kinda like unique names.**

**But, ah, reviews? This isn't really a main priority focus for me but I still appreciate it! Especially since I uploaded two chapters on the same night.**


	6. Hurricane

"_**So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane." -John Green (Looking for Alaska)**_

"Excuse me," Gabriella stuck her elbows out to try and nudge her way through, "Excuse me."

She grumbled in disbelief as the sleeze balls in front of her refused to move.

"When I say excuse me," She huffed, "I mean move the hell out of my way."

Finally the men parted, one holding his hand out and bowing like she was royalty, "After you princess."

"Thank you," She shot them a sarcastic frown, adjusting the stack of papers she held in her arms. They were blocking the damn escalator. Seriously, who stands in front of an escalator to hit on people? Her heels clicked on the floor and her tight skirt moved with her. Sure, she was a recently graduated broke college student but she had no intentions on letting anyone know that.

Making her way to the counter of _Office Max_ she slammed down her stack, "Listen, I need eleven copies of each and every one of these papers, no more, no less."

The man behind the counter raised his eyebrows at her, glancing at the stack. There was about five hundred pages of paper, "Okay, that's what I'm here to do."

"As fast a possible, in order," She clapped her hands at the black polo'd man, "I'm serious."

"No problem," His eyes widened, immediately beginning to scan the papers on multiple machines, allowing no time to be wasted. One of the best parts of his job was listening to people who had worse jobs than himself.

"Yes, Hello, Rebecca," The female responded into her cell phone, "Yes, I'm copying them as we speak. No I'm not doing it myself. Of course I'm managing your time perfectly. Yes, one caramel macchiato."

She stood typing on her cell phone, "Let me guess, you're an assistant?"

"If you can call it that," She sighed, setting the phone down on the counter and leaning against it and joked, "Got any job openings?"

"Toilet cleaner," He nodded his head toward the bathroom in the back all the while continuing to make her required copies. Her phone continued buzzing against the counter.

"And you are probably a broke college student with a crappy job?" Gabriella teased, fully knowing all about that life.

"Almost graduated broke college student who needs to start paying off his loans," The man behind the desk, Troy read his nametag, corrected.

"I have a feeling we'd get along pretty well then," Flipping over her phone, she rolled her eyes at the screen.

* * *

"I'm exhausted," Gabriella rubbed underneath her eyes, careful not to smear her makeup, as her female friend continued tugging at her hair.

"Gabs," She could her Liza rolling her eyes, "It's one night, not like I'm dragging you to a club or anything."

"But I don't even know anyone," Her voice was whiney, high and annoying.

"You don't know anyone," Liza stressed, "Which is why you need to come."

Gabriella could feel her mouth drop, "That's not true, I know people."

"Oh please Gabs," Liza was an old friend from Stanford, she'd lived a few doors down in her dorm, "You know me and that damn boss of yours. Nobody you can call to hang out on the weekend."

"I'd rather sleep," Eyes rolled.

"I can see you in the mirror you know," Liza's hands dropped from her hair, "Now go get those wedges and let's hook you up with a guy."

Gabriella was really good at rolling her eyes, she could be a professional, "I don't need a man. I don't have the time- or patience- to cater to a man's needy, whiney, demanding self."

"I know you're all for female empowerment but a man would do you good right now," Liza tapped the time on her phone, "Let's go!"

Surviving the car ride, Gabriella stepped out, linking arms with her friend, and walked her petite self into the campus restaurant. Their summer dresses swished in the spring air, one could tell graduation was around the corner.

"Hello everyone," Liza bent down, pressing a kiss to someone's cheek before sliding into the booth and Gabriella grabbed the chair across from her, "Gabs this is Chaz, Jake, Stell, and Troy."

Gabriella watched as she pointed to everyone, she'd become a master at learning names since beginning to work for the wicked witch of the west. Liza quickly settled into conversation, leaving Gabriella to fend for herself. What do you know, Liza was friends with the broke almost graduated college student who needed to pay off his loans by working at Office Max.

"Fancy seeing you here," Troy tipped his beer a little and took a swig.

"Yeah," She agreed, "Real fancy."

He chuckled, "Good day with Cruella De Vil?"

"Excellent," Gabriella agreed, "How's the photocopier?"

"Got promoted," Troy nodded, continuing with their sarcastically humorous conversation, "Manager of office furniture."

"Oh," Gabriella tried to flag down a waiter for a drink, "Congratulations, what does that position consist of?"

"Mainly presiding," Another sip of beer, "Over the six different employees working in the office furniture aisles, seventeen through twenty-two."

"Working you way up the business ladder I see," She finally hailed down the waiter, ordering her drink.

One or two later, Gabriella could confirm that she was maybe a little teensy bit possibly tipsy, but it totally was not obvious due to her rambling, "But you know, I don't want to work in publishing, it's so boring. I want to be a writer, or a journalist, or both. You know I've had this idea for a novel since I was like, twelve, and it'd be really cool, you know?"

Troy had nodded along with her whole conversation, listening to the planned details of her future. Grad school, novelist, journalist, editor in chief, world renowned, doesn't need anyone, New York City, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Beijing, Caracas, Johannesburg. She was so confident, knew where she was going and what she wanted to do.

"What about you?" She rolled her eyes, "What's your life desire?"

The was she said it made it seem like it was a bad thing that he had to move on with his life, "Business."

"That's it?" She giggled, "No travel the world? Not even entrepreneur or CEO?"

"I like numbers," He shrugged his shoulders as if it was that simple, "It just makes sense, you know?"

She giggled again, picking up the slight mock at the end of his sentence, "Don't you think that you'll ever get bored?"

"That's kind of the way I wanted it to be," They hadn't even noticed some of their fellow diners had begun to leave the table, "My parents were always so caught up in work –they're doctors- that I never saw them. I don't know, I've always thought that maybe by picking something boring I wouldn't want to stay at work all night and it'd be more fun at the end of the day to go home to my wife and kids. That probably sounds stupid but-"

"No," She shook her head, tracing her finger around the rim of the empty glass, "I always think that if I pursue journalism I'll never be able to spend time at home or get married or have kids."

"Well if you want it enough," Troy pointed out, "I'm sure you could make it happen."

"Yeah, I guess," Her eyes made their way in front of him, "Wait, where'd Liza go?"

"Huh?" Troy's head snapped up, "Oh, maybe she just went to the bathroom."

"Yeah maybe," She sighed, resting her head on her palm, "She was my ride."

"Maybe we can share a cab?" Troy offered, rolling his eyes at the fact everyone left.

* * *

**Yes, not from the list like the usual but I was rereading Looking For Alaska (Amazing book by the way) for the first time since the book came out and got inspired, so TADA!**

**As always reviews are greatly appreciated and loved.**


	7. Old Clothes

"_**I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." **_**–Lauren, age 4**

Spring was rounding the corner in San Diego, and everyone knows what that means. Flowers are blooming, the sun is shining brighter and more frequently, and it's the best time of year to throw out your old junk.

And that's exactly what was happening in the Bolton household.

"Troy! Can you come help me move this box?" Gabriella shouted down the hall, where Troy was assisting eight year old Lily-Anne rid the playroom of Barbie dolls and Linkin Logs, so they could transform the room into what would eventually be some sort of home theater or movie room.

"I'll be right there!" He responded, trying to figure out exactly _how _to get around the monstrous pile of junk in the middle of the room.

Moving through the hall toward his eldest daughter's room, one of the most difficult tasks of this whole process, he saw not one but three boxes that needed to be moved, "Are these being thrown out or donated?"

"The bottom two are old junk," Gabriella's hair was tied up high on her head in a messy knot, "Check with Lily if she wants any of the old clothes, whatever's leftover can be donated."

Troy bent at the knees and lifted the top box, clothes were heavier than you thought, "Hey Lil, come here for a second."

"What daddy?" Her head popped out of the door of the playroom.

"Why don't you come see if you want any of this," Troy unfolded the top of the box, revealing clothing that seemed to be two sizes too small for Harmony.

"Ooh," Lily-Anne drawled out and dumped the box upside down. Troy rubbed his temple with his thumb and forefinger.

"Did you have to dump out the whole thing?" Troy chuckled, watching her dig through the old clothes.

"Daddy, look at this," She held up an old sweatshirt. It was blue, had a large red heart painted on the middle, and red stripes around the sleeves. She slid it on, sleeves two inches too long and the bottom of the zipper hung down her legs.

Harmony strolled out of her room with a box and laughed, "Looks good Lil."

Lily-Anne was too naïve to catch her sarcasm, "Really?"

Troy watched as she slid up the sleeves and twirled around, their approximately two-year-old rescue dog bounding down the hall where Troy caught him, "What do you think Piano? Does it look good on Lily?"

The dog barked.

"Well, in that case," Troy nodded, "I think it looks great."

"Cool," She bounced down the hall to Harmony's room, "Look Mommy, I look just like Harmony!"

He could hear his wife laugh, "Yeah, you do sweetie."

Sometimes he wondered if she ever felt left out, separate from the rest of them, because of her desire to look like her sister. The whole wanting to fit in with the family thing, they'd been warned that sometimes adopted children feel like they don't fit in. They didn't love her any more any less than their own daughter, it was just a different type of love. Harmony would always be their first born, their 'experiment' as they liked to joke, and Lily would always be their baby, just like with every family of siblings. It was just like Harmony would always be special because she was their genetic daughter and Lily-Anne was special because they'd gotten a second chance. Harmony always considered Lily her sister, and likewise with Lily. Yet sometimes, someone would always feel left out and Troy was always wary, that as she'd get older, she'd be upset that her mother had given her up or that she didn't look like her family.

But then he'd see her, like right now, sitting in Gabriella's lap looking through an old photo album. Gabriella pointed at pictures and their little girl would scrunch her nose at her sister's baby picture, unable to picture her sister as a baby. That's when he'd get the reassurance that they were doing it right, raising their kids. Gabriella would wink at him and he'd wink back, knowing that Lily-Anne fit right in with their family, as their daughter.

* * *

**Short and sweet? Bonus chapter for the night. I kind of forgot about for a while and found it while uploading the last chapter.**

**I love your reviews, seriously, I do!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Gabriella liked to be busy. She couldn't sit still for too long, so as she stared at the final draft of the last chapter of her book on the computer, she sighed. It was so _quiet. _Turning up the music from the computer, she pushed herself from the chair and walked to the kitchen for a snack. When she quit her job, she hadn't expected to be sitting around all day long.

She expected to be writing all day, chasing after the kids, having play dates with other mom's, maybe having lunch with Troy once in a while, and overall, living the stay at home mom life. It certainly wasn't what she'd expected.

Harmony was at school, Lily at pre-school, and Troy was at work. She still had to wake up early to get the kids off to school, she found herself cooking way more than she had ever anticipated, and living her life the exact opposite way she had pictured it. She was happy though, her book was _finally _on its way to being published. However, once it was, she was definitely finding a job again.

Journalism was great, she loved it. What she didn't love was the hours, especially the over night breaking news she had to attend to occasionally. Troy wasn't a big fan of it either, but he was downright stunned when she said that she wanted to quit. She anticipated him to be mad and shocked, afterall they had two kids and a mortgage to pay.

_Gabriella returned home furious from work. It was the third week in a row that she'd spent unpaid for hours of writing only to be smacked in the fourth and fifth pages of the paper. She been on the front page for years now, it was like getting slapped across the face. She'd never been one for rash decisions, but she'd given her new editor a month and was still furious._

_Quitting seemed like the only decision that would make her happy. She'd get to see her kids and her husband more, the exact opposite of what she was doing now._

_She tried her best not to slam the door out of frustration, knowing that Troy and the kids would flinch when they heard her heels stomping on the floor after yet another frustrating day of work. She absolutely hated coming home from work angry and exposing it to her family._

_It was seven o'clock and she gently let the door click back into place, sliding her heels off immediately, hoping she wouldn't need them for a while. Troy was cooking dinner, she could smell it, and Lily rushed to the top of the stairs as soon as she heard her. Gabriella smiled, climbing the stairs to her and picking her up, kissing the top of her head, "Hey baby girl."_

_Lily just tightened her arms around her neck. Gabriella set her back down on the floor, "I missed you today baby. Where's Harmony?"_

_She pointed down the hall, Gabriella understood that she was in her bedroom, "You must be hungry, huh? What's Daddy making?"_

_Lily nodded, "Spaghetti."_

"_My favorite," Gabriella kicked at a fake cell phone, "Why don't you clean up some of your toys while I help daddy finish up, okay?"_

_Lily dutifully turned back toward her toys scattered across the living room as Gabriella padded into the kitchen. Troy sent her a soft smile after seeing her prior to straining the noodles, he stopped, looked at his watch and at her, "You're home early."_

_Gabriella bit her lip, nodding, and heading toward him for a hug. She grasped on a little tighter than usual. Troy kissed the top of her head, just as she'd done with Lily._

"_How was work?" Troy questioned and suddenly her eyes filled with water. She'd been mad, frustrated, and upset but she'd never let it affect her so much that she was crying, "Hey, no tears."_

"_I didn't finish my article," She sniffled, she'd _never _not finished an article for the paper._

"_That's okay, you've still got a couple hours until it's due," Troy lifted her face to look at him, "Don't worry about it, it'll work out. Nothing to cry about."_

"_I don't want to finish it," She shook her head, more tears falling, "I want to read my babies a bedtime story and go to bed with you and sleep in."_

"_Dad, is dinner ready?" Harmony poked her head in the kitchen, Gabriella ducked her head in Troy's chest, not wanting to let her daughter see her crying, "When'd you get home Mom?"_

"_Almost," Troy replied, keeping his arms around Gabriella, "Why don't you go wash your hands and help Lily wash hers too, okay?"_

"_Okay," She turned around and left the kitchen. Gabriella lifted her head again._

_Troy brushed a few tears from her face, "Can we finish this later? Go wash your face and change. You just got home from work, let the anger settle a little, and give it a little time to think, okay?"_

_Gabriella nodded and walked out of the kitchen, "I don't know why I'm so upset."_

"_It's fine to be upset over this honey," Troy assured, but wasn't sure if she heard him._

_They sat down at the table, Gabriella plastered a smile on her face for her kid's sake, and listened as Harmony talked about her school day and the soccer practice she had completely forgotten about. Troy smiled at her from across the table and firmly instructed Lily to stop blowing bubbles with her straw. After getting them cleaned up and giving Lily a bath, Gabriella had read both of the bedtime stories while Troy cleaned up in the kitchen and retreated to their room with a book in hand. Gabriella had joined him about ten minutes later, pulling back the sheets and sliding right up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder, "What are you reading?"_

"_Something someone at work recommended," He closed it and set it on the bedside table, "It's a pretty depressing book."_

"_Hmm," She mumbled and closed her eyes as Troy tightened his arm around her, resting her head against his chest._

"_I'm sorry for cutting the conversation short earlier, I know you were upset but," He rubbed his hand over her arm, "The girls were hungry an hour earlier but I told them that we were going to wait for you."_

_Gabriella's heart tightened, they'd had to wait for her to eat dinner, "It's fine, I needed some time to calm down."_

"_Brie," Troy kissed the top of her head._

"_I don't want to be that kind of Mom Troy," Her voice quivered, "The one who misses dinner and forgets about their kid's soccer practices."_

"_I know, but you love writing El," Troy reminded her, with all the frustrations she seemed to be forgetting that._

"_I just don't think that journalism is what I want to do right now," She sucked in a breath, "I think I'm going to quit."_

_She braced herself for his anger, they had two kids and a mortgage to pay for. They finally paid off their college debt, swapping it for a mortgage and kids and a stable family life. Sure they had enough money, but he wouldn't be happy, "If that's what you're sure you want and what will make you happy, then by all means go ahead."_

"_What do you think I should do?" She asked, not really sure what his view on this was._

"_I'd be lying if I said that I want you to keep that job El," Troy shifted so he could look at her, "Journalism is what you always wanted to do and I know you love it, but I miss when you came home from work happy and in a good mood. I could never ask you to quit your job but I can't stand that you're always so upset and angry. And I know the girls would love it if you were home again when Harmony gets off the bus and if you started picking Lily up from pre-school again."_

_Gabriella always used to pick up Lily from school, but gradually Troy had taken over for her, "I miss it too but we have bills to pay and-"_

"_Gabriella, don't think about that right now," Troy shushed, "It's not like we're in risk of foreclosure or I'm in risk of loosing my job. I want you to do what's right for you and our family right now, okay?"_

"_I'm going to do it then," She said weakly, "Okay?"_

"_Do whatever you think is right," Troy smiled, digging his head through her hair into her neck, "I'm excited though, that you're going to be home more. Maybe you can finish that book and try to get it published."_

"_That would be incredible," She sighed, getting published was her other life long dream._

"_Yep," Troy flipped himself over so he was straddling her, "Then I can _finally_ read_ _something my wife wrote."_

"_I told you once it's-" She yelped as his hands unexpectedly moved to her breasts, "Finished you'll be the first to read it."_

"_Good, now let's put," Troy's mouth landed on her neck, "All work aside for a little while."_

She needed to get out of the house, and she needed to do it fast. She waited for an idea to strike her and _damn _did it strike. She jogged to the bedroom with the key to their fireproof safe, where they kept all their important documents. Pushing past the social security cards, her daughter's birth certificates, until she found just what she was looking for, her marriage certificate.

* * *

When they'd gotten married Troy was upset that she didn't want to change her last name, but as a budding journalist she explained that keeping a consistent name in her column was important. It _was _important. It'd been a sort of ongoing debate, Troy assumed by the time that they had their first child she'd be ready to change her name so they could all have the same last name. When that hadn't happened, he'd been absolutely certain that by the time they had to name their second, she'd be on board. She told him that he could call her Mrs. Bolton if he wanted, they introduced herself as Gabriella Bolton to his colleagues and Harmony's teacher and friend's parents, but professionally she never thought the time was right to change her name.

Now, she wanted to change her name though and it was _perfect _timing. Her book was coming out in a few months and she knew that she _and _Troy would love it if it was published with the name Gabriella Bolton.

She stood in the licensing center with her passport and I.D., waiting in line to change her name with the appropriate paperwork. When a person left and it was finally her turn, she stepped up to an un-happy man who asked her, "Okay, what can I do for you today ma'am."

"I'd like to change my last name to my husband's," She slid the paperwork across the counter to him.

"Ah, newlywed?" He asked, making sure she appropriately filled out the required form.

"Not really," She gave him a half smile as he scanned her marriage certificate.

"I'll say," He said scanning the date, "Not very often we get people married almost fifteen years that want to change their name."

"I know," Gabriella felt kind of guilty, but better late than never.

"Okay first sign these," He slid her some papers to sign for her license and passport, "Then I'll have you step on that line for a picture."

Gabriella nodded, getting to work signing her papers.

* * *

After Gabriella had successfully picked up Lily, gotten Harmony off the bus, and made dinner, Troy walked in through the door not in the best mood. Work was work, but just walking into a good smelling house relaxed him, "I'm home."

Gabriella stepped out of the kitchen and stood over the railing at the top of the steps, "Dinner's almost ready."

Troy trekked the stairs, wrapping his arms around her waist and giving her a quick kiss, "Someone's in a good mood today."

"Come on, I have to show you something," She tugged on his hand, not allowing him time to change out of his shirt or tie.

"What is it?" He asked confused, there was no anniversary, holiday, etc., that she would have gotten him a gift for. Especially something that was in the kitchen.

However, when he stepped in there wasn't anything new or out of place. Gabriella went straight to her purse, grabbing her wallet and passport. She slid a card out and bounced back over to him, "Close your eyes!"

Troy stumbled confusedly as she accidentally rammed into him, "What's going on?"

"I have a surprise," She slid her driver's license into his hand, "Guess what it is."

Troy smiled at her evident excitement, "Um, a credit card?"

"No," He could hear the smile on her face as she talked, "Guess again."

"A gift card?" He guessed, totally confused.

"Nope," She instructed, "Look at it."

Troy opened his eyes, from afar he could easily recognize it as a California driver's license, but he looked a little closer, noting that it wasn't Gabriella Montez's driver's license, it was his wife's driver's license, "Brie, you didn't have to."

"I know but I've been wanting to change it for a really long time and since I'm not in journalism anymore I decided now was the perfect time. Plus, now I can publish my book as Gabriella _Bolton._"

"I can't lie, I'm extremely happy you did this," Troy smiled, his day completely flipped around, "I know you didn't really want to do this but I really appreciate it."

"Troy," She lectured, "It's not that I didn't want to change, you know that. Now though, I just want to have the same name as you and the girls because I love you guys."

"I know," Troy tilted her head up with his hands, "And I love you too." He kissed her gently, pulling back with a large smile on his face, "I'm so excited."

"I am too," She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tight.

* * *

**A/N: So I'm sure by now most of you know I love writing flash backs. Anyway, this sprawled out of boredness, as always.**

**Thanks so much for reviewing, this isn't really one of my priority stories/I only update when I'm bored kind of thing so I really appreciate the people who regularly review when I don't regularly update.**


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